Optical instrument.



M. WOOLF.

OPTICAL INSTRUMENT.

APPucATloN FILED Nov, 2a. |916.

INVENTO/' /f/,Mez W00 if A TTOHNEY Patented Sept 2-SHEETS-SHEET l.

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M. WOOLF. OPTICAL INSTRUMENT. APPLICATION FILED NOV. 23. 1916.

1 240, 28 9 Patented Sept. 18, 1917,

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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MICHAEL WOOLF, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

OPTICAL INSTRUMENT.

y Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 18, 1917.

Application ledNovember 23, 1916. Serial No. 132,971.

To all whom t may concern: v

Be it known that Lf MICHAEL WooLr, a citizen of the United States, and resident of the borough of Manhattan, in the city and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful improvements in Optical Instruments, of which the' following is a specification. Y

The present invention relates to improvements in optical instruments, particularly for usein adapting cylindrical lenses to different refractive errors of astigmatism of the eye, and the like. I

An object of the invention is to provide an improved instrument of this character, in which a plurality of lenses "of different strength are provided, adapted to be successively brought before the eye, the lenses beingof such variety, either singly or by combination as to afffird a testing range covering practically any degree of astigmatism. A .further object is to provide means for simultaneously. and accurately setting all of the axes of the cylindrical lenses for .the proper degree olf refraction which is first determined by the usual'method, so that, regardless of the incres-ising or decreasing power Vof the lenses, the axes will always be the same as each lens is brought before the eye.

l lt is also anA object to provide in combination with the present improvements, a spherical lens system. for testing the refractive errors of the eye, for hypermetropia or myopia, or other lenses in connection with prismatic lenses or other means for determining muscular imbalance or strabismus.

Wvith these and other objects in view, my invention is shown in the accompanying drawings, and will be hereinafter more fully described with reference thereto, and finally pointedk out in the claims.`

In the accompanying drawings,

' Figure l is a front view of my improved device, showing the same mounted in duplicate, one for each eye, n

Fig. 2 is a rear view with parts broken f Fig. 3 is a side view thereof,

Fig. Il is a vertical sectional view along the line Ll-l of Fig. 2, A Fig. 5 is a horizontal sectionalvi'ew along the line 5 5 of Fig. 2, Y

Fig. 6 is an elevation lfrom the rear, with the cover plate removed,l and parts broken away, Y i Y.

Fig.7 isa view of the under side ef the main battery of lenses,

Fig; Sis a front view of the auxiliar,-v supplementary battery of lenses. A Figs. 9 and 19 are front and edge views respectively of the gear for revolving the lenses,

Fig. 1l is an enlarged top view of one of the lenses. i

Fig. l2 is a sectional view thereof, and

Figs. 13 and 14 are detail views of the lenses positioning `springs employed.

Similar reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several figures of the' drawings. v

. Referring to the drawings, and more paie ticularly to Fig. l thereof, a support '2O is detachably connected with a bar or refraction rule 2l upon'which is slidablymo'unted a support (not shown) for holding a small card or' chart of the usual test type. At either sidey of the support 20, there are mounted the test apparatus, in such position as to accommodate the eyes of the pa tient, the apparatus for each eye being .of similar construction, but reversed in operationand position.

The spherical lens system A, which in the preferred construction embodies the princi'- ple of the Shigon Patent No. 979,578, of December l27th, 1910, is superimposed upon the cylindrical lens system B, constituting the present improvements. The back plate of the spherical lens system forms the front plate 22 of the system B. The spherical lens system A may be substituted by othersys-v tems if desired, or dispensed with.

The front and rear plates 22 and 23 are substantially circular in form, being provided with projecting portions for the spacing posts 25, and at the inner and lower sides shaped toV conform to the shape of the system A to permit ofits being properly sup.- ported, and to provide a contour which iits the face. of the patient. The plates 22 and 23y are provided respectively with openings 26 and 27 in line withv theopenings through the system A.

A shaft 29 is mounted centrally of the plate 22, and the plate'23 is secured thereto by a washer 30 and screw 31. A washer 82 is mounted on the shaft 29 adjacent the plate 22, and a rotatable lens supporting frame 33 is mounted above the said washer, the same being provided with a recess 34:r which engages over the said washer so that the framev is spaced slightly from the plate 22 so as to permit its easy movement. This frame is segmental at its outer portion, being five ninths of the circle, and being provided -with five divisions, being respectively a blank or closed part.35, a: 12.00 diopter lens 36, a:

m6.00 diopter lens 37, a plus 6 diopterlens 38 and anopen space 39 normally in position in alinement with the openings 26, 27. A circumferential,l extension 40 outside the path of .the lenses, is provided at its end with a projecting index 41, which extends from between Vthe plate, and is bent downwardly upon itself, being pointed at the end. .Markf ings 42 corresponding to the divisions of the frame or battery 33, are provided on the marginal portion of the front plate 22, and in such f posit-ionY that when the indexv is turned to revolve the frame, the markings will indicate the particular lens. or division in line with the openings ofthe plates 22 and y23.

In order to accurately positi'onthe lenses, aV spring pawl 43 is keyed in a groove 44 of the shaft 29, and is provided with a boss 45, which yieldinglyvk engages recesses 46 in radial alinement with the axes of thelenses or divisions. A. washer 47 `Iholds the central lportion of the springl raised rom the frame 33.' The'lenses o-the frame 33 are used'for increasingthe rangev of the spheri-V callens system A.-

Above the plate 43 a gear wheel 48 is rotatably 'mounted,' the same Vbeing annularly recessed as at 49 and 50 to form steps. A

turning lug 51 is secured to the gear 48 by screws 52, and extends upwardly through a circumierentialI slot 53 in the plate 22, being provided with a springpawl 54 having a knob 54a, the said pawl engaging at the inner side of. the slot a toothed circumferential wall or lockingmember 55, and at ythe other sidebeing disposed as van index over a graduatedrefraction scale 56 from Oo'to 180.

`The frame 33 is'circumferentially recessed as at. 33a and 33b torpermit movement of the lug51, and to permit movement of the frame aboutthe lug. l n

. A circular frame 57 constituting the cylindrical battery, is revolubly mounted on the gear 48 in the recessed portionA 50, va retaining ring 58 beingv disposed'in the recess 4,9V

and secured: to the geargby screws 59. The outer .edge of the. lframe 57 extends slightly beyond the edges oftheiplates 22 and 23, and

is bent down and milled as at 60, the bent downfp ortion partially embracingthe frame 33 oli' the auxiliarygor.supplemental battery.

Thisframe; 57, .it will be obvious, .is turned byfmeans of the milled edge, and visdiyided intovnine. divisions, eachprovided with a circular. opening 61therein,eight. olithese openings being. provided with, cylindricallenses of dilierent strength, as follows:` 0.,

.25, .50,"'.75,*1., l1.25, 1.50, 1.75, 2'., the remainingv opening being blank, but these may be varied as desired. The lenses are mounted in rotatable frames 63, provided at their loweredge withv a toothed flange 64meshing with the gear wheel 48, and at its upper si-dewith allange 65, the diameter oit'v which is slightly less than the opening 61 of the frame, so as to perinit the insertion of the frame therein, whereupon itis revolubly held in-lplace by a split ring, 66,V disposed between.' the said flange and 'thefsupporting surface of the iframeV 57 Interiorly the frame 63 Ais recessed as at 67 to receive the lens .which is held fin place by cement or other suitable y means maybe provided.

Markings 68 are provided on the under side of the frame 57 at the marginal portion, which show througha triangular opening` 69 of the plate -22 which rindicate the power of the particular lens which is in line with the openings 426 and 27 of the lcover plates, a dot indicatingthe blank.

The frame 33 of the spherical auxiliary battery extends over opening 69, when two of its divisions are in position at theopenings 26 and 27 so that triangular openings 71 and -72 areprovided in the frame 33', so as not to obscurey the reading of the main battery.

In order to properly positionthe lenses of-the main battery, a bow spring 73 'is keyed to theshaft v29, and is provided at itsv ends with bosses 74 andV 7 5' which yieldingly engage lrecesses 76 radially in line with the axis ofthe opening 61, a washer v76 being `disposed between the spring and the plate 23.

The lenses-are all arranged so that their optic axes are atV the same degree, as they are successively brought in line at theopenings 26 and 27.' The degreeofasti'gmatisni ofthepatients eyes is firstdetermined, and the pawl 54 is disengaged from the tooth wall 55andis moved 'to theco'rre'sponding degree on the axes scale 56.' The gearl48 is turned thereby, which causes the lenses 62 to be rotated correspondinglyso that the optic axes ofy allthe lensesare simultaneously and correspondingly changed to agree with the degree of -error ol' refraction of the patient, regardless-ofthe power-of the cylindrical,lenses. Assuming'the test is then started from the low power, and increased with the disk 33 placed at" open.

The various lenses of the cylindricalfbat.

tery are successively brought before the patients eye until the proper'strength lens is found. The operatiomhowever, maybe 'reversed if 'it is `desiredfto start r'omthe iigh'er vpowers and decrease the cylindrical oci.

`For .urthergtestslbeyond the range `oli' the lenses 62, the plate 23is provided' with" a .A

lens holder 77, circumferentially arranged with respect to the opening 27, and provided with a spring 78,'to permit other testing lenses to be inserted and held therein. An axis scale 79is provided on the plate 23 above the holder 77.

r1`he range of the spherical system A is up to 6. diopter, in quarters, in convex or concave, so that, if greater power in convexis desired, the index ofthe disk 33 is placed at +6., which carries the power of the system A up to l2. d. For concave lenses the index is set at` 6, signifying .,-6 diopter, while the system A is placed at |6 d., which neutralizes and gives zero. Then by decreasing the power of A, the power of the -6 is materially olf-set so Vas to give all concave spherical lenses.` After all of the power has been consumed, and nothing butv the r6 remains, should still higher power be desired, the index is set at -12. It' will be seen that the disk 33 may be utilized to increasethe power of A be-y yond +6. d. or to give all of the concave spherical lenses, as well as to serve as a shut-out or openingas the case may be, for the whole instrument.y

With my improvements, av very convenient device isprovided eliminating the trial case in practically every refraction test of the eye, permitting the testing -to be carried out in a quicker and more accurate manner,

. and with the combined apparat-,us Aand B,

auxiliary means is provided for transformf ing the .optical values into spheiecylindrical equivalents. `The device is compact, automatic, simple in operation and construction, may be easily kept clean, and is practically dust proof. v f

I have `illustrated preferred and satisfactory forms of my invention, but it is obvious that changes may be made therein within the spirit and scopethereof, as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

l. In a device of the character described, a disk carrying a plurality of cylindrical lenses on acommon axis, means rotatably supporting said lenses in said disk, means engaging said supporting means and adapted to simultaneously rotateV the same by movement thereof to change the opticaxes of said lenses, means adapted to be manually operated to impart direct movement to said last named means, and a scale adapted to indicate the amount of movement of said last named means. y y

2. In a device of the character described, a disk carrying a plurality of cylindrical lenses on a common axis, means rotatably supporting said lenses in said disk, means engaging said supporting means and-adapted to simultaneously rotate the same by movement thereof to change the optic axes of said lenses, means adapted to be manually operated to impart movement to said last named means, and a scale in proximity to said manually operated means adapted t0 indicate the movement, thereofl and the amount of rotation of said lenses, said manually operated means acting as an index with respect to said scale.

3. In a device of the character described, a disk carrying a .plurality of cylindrical lenses, on a common axis, means rotatably supporting said lenses in said disk, means engaging said supporting means, and adapted to simultaneously rotate the same by movement thereof to change the optic axes of said lenses, a handle mounted on said last named means for operating the same, and a scale adapted to indicate the amount of movement of said last named means.

4. In a device of the character described, a disk carrying a plurality of cylindrical lenses, on a common axis, means rotatably supporting said lenses in said disk, rotatable means engaging said supporting means, and adapted to simultaneously rotate the same by movement thereof'to change the optic axes of said lenses, a handle mounted on said rotatable means` for rotating the same, a scale adapted yto indicate the amount of movement ofsaid last named means, and means adapted to lock said handle and said lastnamed means in any position of movement to maintain the position of the axes of said lenses. v v 5. In a! device of the character described, a supporting plate provided-with an arcuate slot therein, a disk concentric to the axis thereof, carrying a plurality of cylindrical lenses, on a common axis, means rotatably supporting saidlenses in said disk, rotatable means concentric to the axis of said plate engaging said supporting means and adapted to simultaneously rotate the same by movement thereof to change the optic axes of said lenses, a handle mounted on said rotatable means and extending through said arcuate` slot exterior of said plate, and a scale on said` plate adapted to indicate the amount of movement of said handle and rotatable means.

6. In a device of the character described, a supporting` plate provided with an arcuate Vslot therein, a disk concentric to the axis thereof, carrying a plurality of cylindrical lenses, on a common axis, means rotatably supporting said lenses in said disk, rotatable means concentric to the axis of said plate engaging said supporting means and adapted to simultaneously rotate the same by 'movement thereof to change the optic axes of said lenses, a handle mounted on said rotatable means and extending through said arcuate slot exterior of said plate, and a scale on said plate adapted to indicate the amount of movement of said handle and rotatable means, an arcuate locking member arranged in proximity to said slot and yield- 7. .In a device of the character described,A

a pair fof spaced cover plates,provided With openings therein in alinement; av reading opening in one vof fsa-id! plates, avdisk revolubly mounted between said-.plates carrying afplurality of cylindrical lenses onaV comamon axis, said lensesY adapted Itobe-successively brought before saidv openings, markings ongsaid diskto indicate the lenses in registrationV with said openings, and adapted to bei read through 'said' reading opening, ineansrotatably supporting said lenses in saidy disk, means adapted to simultaneously rotate said lenses to correspondingly change the optic axis of 'saidy lenses, -means exterior of said f'plates forz turning said ilast named means,'and a scale of degreesl of refraction adapted to determine Ithe'amount. of movement of said exterior turning' means.

8. In a device of the character described, a disk'vcarrying'a plurality ofeylindrical lenses, on a.` common axis, means rotatably supporting; said lenses iii said disk, and provided with gear teeth, a gear rotatable With respect to said disk and engaging the gear teethof said supporting vineans, an `index handle for turning saidlgear, a scale of degrees of refraction adapted to determinethe amount of movement of said gearyturniiig of ysaid`v`v gear adapted to simultaneously rotatesaid lenses to correspondingly ychange thefoptic axis of said lenses.

9; .An improved mounting for lenses, comprising in combination, a Vsupporting member provided with an opening therein, a lens frame provided Witha lens, and having a vflange of greater dimensions` than said'opening at one side of said supporting'member,

a flange at the other side of .said supporting member of less dimension than said opening, and a retaining ring having-'its outer4 dimensions greater than said: opening, and its inner dimensions less than said` lastnamed flange, and disposed between said flange and the surface of said supporting-.f member.

rCopies of this patent 10Q An improved mountingf for# lenses, comprising# inn combination a supporting membervprovided 'With'. af'cireularfopening 50 therein, al lens framerprovidediwithi a lens,. and having aiflangey provided iwith'ge'ar teeth ofgreater diameter than said ,opening at onelside of said `supportingImeinber,A a

-flangexat the othenside of said supporting member of vless diameter fthanzsaid opening, and` Aa retaining; ringy having anl 'outer diam;- eterJ greater :than said opening yand anA inner diameterlessvthan the diameter of fsaidlast named lflange, andv disposedbetween: said flange .and the. surfacexof said1,supporting member, i and 1 a:y gear engaging said f gear teeth andifadapted to .rotate said lens in: said openings,

l1.4 Inaa devicev of the'character described, 65

a pair of spaced cover plates providediv-ith openingsfthereini.inzalinement, a disk .revolubly mounted c betweensaid plates, carrying a plurality of'cylindnical-lenses von;a

common axis',.said lenses adapted tobe suo- 70 cessively,l broughty before vsaid openings, means rotatably supporting:l said, lenses'v inV said disk` moans adapted'to'fsimultaneously rotate Said lenses to correspondingly'change the optifeaxis of said lenses, meansexterior of said .plate for turning said last named means, a. sphericalvlens system,` and an-.auxdiary battery of lensescrotatable onlsaid common axis and adapted to be brought vbefore'said openings in combination yWith the 80 lens of said' sphericalvsystem, an index :on said auxiliary battery extending vexteriorly of said plates, andfinarkingsron oneof said plates adapted to indicate by registrationof said index therewith, the lens offsaid aux- 8 5 iliary battery in registration'vvith said openings. Y In testimony that Iiclaim the foregoing Y as my invention, I have signedmy name'in presence oftivo subscribing Witnesses-sl MICHAEL WOLF..

' Iitnesses D. Lnivis MATTERN, MAEM; VVINBERG;l

may ,be-'obtained for -ve :cents each,-.hy zaddressingthe Commissioner-of latents,A

= ,Washingtoia DAL. v 

